What changed the world was careful measurement. Measurement meant relationships and when relationships could be standard and predictable, they were all the ingredients for science.
Industrial beauty. Why? Why not pure function? Why have fonts and shapes that draw us in? What is meant to be connoted by refined feel and quality in these obviously factory or trade-desk items? We had never bothered with such aesthetics in simple tools before. The tools of war--yes. But professions and industrial jobs conferred status. The status of design was a mark of precision and order as well as focus on function. In refining our tools we made them precise. In precision we made continuous improvement and the race for new and better technology. We also taught generations of workers to esteem accuracy and refinement-- salient features of all future societies.
I am particularly in love with the French brass ampmeter--clearly a tool of science--not industry. It is from a gentleman's laboratory focused on measuring the wonder of this new natural concept made well-known by Benjamin Franklin--electricity. By the mid 19th century Faraday and James Clerk Maxwell had laid all the groundwork for Einstein's breakthroughs of 1905. Imagine, from Franking in the 1760s to Einstein in just 150 year or less. No time in history up to then had seen such movement from vague investigations of nature to profound works of deep and lasting mathematical/physical theory. Humans roamed the planet for 1000s of years prior to noticing ore bits precipitating from rocks around their fires. A few thousand more years it took begin science in a serious way--the the late 1500s. And in just 150 years we went from crude studies to Einstein's greatest work. The why and how of that acceleration, and how it continues, is the greatest wonder of my life.
These symbols of analogue industrialism are increasingly sought after by collectors for their inherent elegance of design. I love that, but I love their historical commentary even more. They are the building blocks of the current world more than nearly anything else. Without these sorts of tools we have no industrial chemistry, no electrical tools and wireless advances, no advanced materials like metal coatings and vulcanized rubbers.
What changed the world was careful measurement. Measurement meant relationships and when relationships could be standard and predictable, they were all the ingredients for science.
ReplyDeleteIndustrial beauty. Why? Why not pure function? Why have fonts and shapes that draw us in? What is meant to be connoted by refined feel and quality in these obviously factory or trade-desk items? We had never bothered with such aesthetics in simple tools before. The tools of war--yes. But professions and industrial jobs conferred status. The status of design was a mark of precision and order as well as focus on function. In refining our tools we made them precise. In precision we made continuous improvement and the race for new and better technology. We also taught generations of workers to esteem accuracy and refinement-- salient features of all future societies.
ReplyDeleteI am particularly in love with the French brass ampmeter--clearly a tool of science--not industry. It is from a gentleman's laboratory focused on measuring the wonder of this new natural concept made well-known by Benjamin Franklin--electricity. By the mid 19th century Faraday and James Clerk Maxwell had laid all the groundwork for Einstein's breakthroughs of 1905. Imagine, from Franking in the 1760s to Einstein in just 150 year or less. No time in history up to then had seen such movement from vague investigations of nature to profound works of deep and lasting mathematical/physical theory. Humans roamed the planet for 1000s of years prior to noticing ore bits precipitating from rocks around their fires. A few thousand more years it took begin science in a serious way--the the late 1500s. And in just 150 years we went from crude studies to Einstein's greatest work. The why and how of that acceleration, and how it continues, is the greatest wonder of my life.
ReplyDeleteThese symbols of analogue industrialism are increasingly sought after by collectors for their inherent elegance of design. I love that, but I love their historical commentary even more. They are the building blocks of the current world more than nearly anything else. Without these sorts of tools we have no industrial chemistry, no electrical tools and wireless advances, no advanced materials like metal coatings and vulcanized rubbers.
ReplyDeleteMost of these gauges would retail from 75 to 200 USD in 2016. Science tools would be at the higher end.
ReplyDelete